High Wind, North Rocky Mountain Front
- When
- October 30, 10:46 AM MST
- Where
- North Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
- Measured
- 57 kt (66 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Mesonet station mtbwg browning (mt dot) reports wind gust of 66 MPH.
High Wind in Montana, October 30, 2020
A cold front shifted east across the region during the afternoon of October 30, bringing gusty winds along and behind it. Wind gusts in excess of 50 mph were most widespread across north-central MT through the late afternoon.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 22
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS TFX wrote it up.
A cold front shifted east across the region during the afternoon of October 30, bringing gusty winds along and behind it. Wind gusts in excess of 50 mph were most widespread across north-central MT through the late afternoon. Gusts to 40 mph were likely across much of SW MT as well going into the evening with the strongest gusts through mountain passes.
While winds began to decrease during the evening, strong wind gusts lingered into the overnight period across eastern portions of north-central MT before winds aloft and the surface pressure gradient there relaxed. Favorable conditions for mountain wave wind enhancement were present along the immediate east slopes of the Rockies early in the evening, where some localized gusts to around 80 mph occurred, particularly west of Choteau and Bynum.
Event by event
22 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Eastern Glacier
- When
- October 30, 12:30 PM MST
- Where
- Eastern Glacier forecast zone
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- ASOS
Asos station kctb, cut bank airport reports 64 MPH gust.
High Wind, Southern Rocky Mountain Front
- When
- October 30, 1:00 PM MST
- Where
- Southern Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Mesonet station ricmt, 4.9 e pendroy (mcscn) reports wind gust of 57mph.
High Wind, Toole
- When
- October 30, 1:10 PM MST
- Where
- Toole forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Mesonet station dw0975, kevin reports wind gust of 60 MPH.
High Wind, Toole
- When
- October 30, 1:25 PM MST
- Where
- Toole forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Mesonet station dw9605, galata reports wind gust of 58 MPH.
High Wind, Eastern Glacier
- When
- October 30, 1:46 PM MST
- Where
- Eastern Glacier forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Mesonet station ew5772, cut bank reports wind gust of 58 MPH.
High Wind, Liberty
- When
- October 30, 1:47 PM MST
- Where
- Liberty forecast zone
- Measured
- 55 kt (63 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Mesonet station dw4821, chester reports wind gust of 63 MPH.
High Wind, Madison
- When
- October 30, 2:00 PM MST
- Where
- Madison forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Mesonet station yctim, 6.3 w big sky (avalanche) reported a wind gust of 60MPH.
High Wind, Southern Rocky Mountain Front
- When
- October 30, 2:12 PM MST
- Where
- Southern Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
- Measured
- 51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- AWOS
Awos station k1gm golf reports wind gust of 59 MPH.
High Wind, Eastern Teton
- When
- October 30, 2:35 PM MST
- Where
- Eastern Teton forecast zone
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
Spotter reports that winds have been pretty strong for the past two hours.
High Wind, Broadwater
- When
- October 30, 2:54 PM MST
- Where
- Broadwater forecast zone
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Mesonet station ekhm8, elkhorn raws - 8 w townsend.
High Wind, Madison
- When
- October 30, 2:57 PM MST
- Where
- Madison forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Mesonet station mtnor norris hill (mt dot) reported a wind gust of 58 MPH.
High Wind, Cascade
- When
- October 30, 3:05 PM MST
- Where
- Cascade forecast zone
- Measured
- 58 kt (67 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- ASOS
Asos station kgtf great falls reports 67MPH gust.
High Wind, Hill
- When
- October 30, 3:16 PM MST
- Where
- Hill forecast zone
- Measured
- 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Mesonet station ew1931 rudyard.
High Wind, North Rocky Mountain Front
- When
- October 30, 3:22 PM MST
- Where
- North Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
- Measured
- 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Mesonet station mtbrn two medicine bridge (mt dot) reports wind gust of 61MPH.
High Wind, Cascade
- When
- October 30, 3:35 PM MST
- Where
- Cascade forecast zone
- Measured
- 62 kt (71 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
Trained spotter reports wind gusts of 71MPH at 7SW Highwood.
High Wind, Hill
- When
- October 30, 3:42 PM MST
- Where
- Hill forecast zone
- Measured
- 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- ASOS
Asos station khvr havre ap asos measured wind gust of 61 MPH.
High Wind, Fergus
- When
- October 30, 4:58 PM MST
- Where
- Fergus forecast zone
- Measured
- 57 kt (66 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Mesonet station in Denton reports wind gust to 66 MPH.
High Wind, Southern Lewis and Clark
- When
- October 30, 5:43 PM MST
- Where
- Southern Lewis and Clark forecast zone
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Mesonet station 301005 sieben reports 65 MPH wind gust.
High Wind, Fergus
- When
- October 30, 5:46 PM MST
- Where
- Fergus forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- AWOS
Awos station k1om oscar measured wind gust of 58 MPH.
High Wind, Beaverhead
- When
- October 30, 6:47 PM MST
- Where
- Beaverhead forecast zone
- Measured
- 54 kt (62 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Mesonet station brrm8 brenner raws.
High Wind, Southern Lewis and Clark
- When
- October 30, 8:41 PM MST
- Where
- Southern Lewis and Clark forecast zone
- Measured
- 59 kt (68 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Msonet station mtmdp macdonald pass (mt dot) reports wind gust of 68 MPH.
What these are
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Massachusetts, October 30, 2020
- Damaging Winds in Montana, October 30, 2020
- Flooding in Florida, October 30 to 31, 2020
- Coastal Flood in New Jersey, October 30, 2020
- High Wind in Wyoming, October 30 to 31, 2020
- Dust Storm in Washington, October 30, 2020
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Rhode Island, October 30, 2020
- Coastal Flood in Delaware, October 30, 2020
- Dense Fog in Colorado, October 30, 2020
- Flood in Maryland, October 30, 2020
- Coastal Flood in New York, October 30, 2020
- Waterspout in Gulf of Mexico, October 30, 2020
More
Every storm in Montana in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, October 2020
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 924549, 924550, 924563, 924564, 924565, 924552, 924559, 924560, 924558, 924562, 924509, 924561, 924511, 924553, 924551, 924510, 924554, 924512, 924556, 924513, 924508, 924555.